Scotland 2-0 Macedonia
World Cup 2010 Qualifiers
Group Stages
Sat 5th September 2009
15:00
Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)
Att: 50,214
Brown(56)
McFadden(80)
C Gordon
A Hutton
D Weir
S McManus
C Davidson (S Whittaker 13)
G Alexander
S Brown (P Hartley 73)
D Fletcher(C)
S Fletcher (S Maloney 68)
J McFadden
K Miller
Manager:
George Burley
FIFA Ranking: 30
J Nikoloski
N Noveski
I Mitreski
G Sedloski
G Popov
A Stojkov (B Ibraimi 79)
V Shumulikoski
F Despotovski
S Georgievski (V Grozdanovski 69)
G Pandev
I Naumoski (D Tasevski 64)
FIFA Ranking: 56
Key: Goals Missed Penalty Red Card
| 1 | Craig Gordon (Sunderland) | (37 Caps) | Age: 26 | ||
| 2 | Alan Hutton (Tottenham Hotspur) | (12 Caps) | Age: 24 | ||
| 3 | Callum Davidson (Preston North End) | (19 Caps) | Age: 33 | ||
| 4 | Stephen McManus (Celtic) | (19 Caps) | Age: 26 | ||
| 5 | David Weir (Rangers) | (64 Caps) | Age: 39 | ||
| 6 | Scott Brown (Celtic) |  |
 |
(18 Caps) | Age: 24 |
| 7 | Darren Fletcher (Manchester Utd) Captain | (44 Caps) | Age: 25 | ||
| 8 | Graham Alexander (Burnley) | (40 Caps) | Age: 37 | ||
| 9 | Kenny Miller (Rangers) | (44 Caps) | Age: 29 | ||
| 10 | Steven Fletcher (Burnley) | (5 Caps) | Age: 22 | ||
| 11 | James McFadden (Birmingham City) | |
|
(44 Caps) | Age: 26 |
| 13 | Steven Whittaker (Rangers) | (2 Caps) | Age: 25 | ||
| (Replaced Callum Davidson 13 min) | |||||
| 14 | Shaun Maloney (Celtic) | (16 Caps) | Age: 26 | ||
| (Replaced Steven Fletcher 69 min) | |||||
| 15 | Paul Hartley (Bristol City) | (23 Caps) | Age: 32 | ||
| (Replaced Scott Brown 73 min) | |||||
Yellow Card  Red Card  Double Booking Goals Scored  Penalty Save |
|||||
10 Steven Fletcher
World Cup 2010 Qualifiers
Group Stages
Sat 5th September 2009
15:00
Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)
Att: 50,214
For the important double header against Macedonia and Holland, 39 year old David Weir was called up as Gary Caldwell was suspended. Gordon was back from injury and Garry O'Connor was called up for the first time in Burley's reign. Prior to the match the SFA stated that Burley's position would be under review after the qualification campaign.
The first half was a poor affair for Scotland with Craig Gordon being their saviour on more than one occasion. At the end of the first half there was controversy, as at a drop ball Scott Brown kicked the ball off the opposing player to win a corner. This infuriated the Macedonians and caused the match to heat up. In the second half, Scotland came out a totally changed team. First McFadden then Miller missed great chances before the deadlock was broken on the 56th minute. Steven Fletcher floated a ball into the box from the left, for Scott Brown to score a diving header into the far corner. Both Steven Whittaker and Kenny Miller had chances to double the lead before James McFadden did just that 10 minutes from time. He collected the ball inside his own half ran past an opponent, beat both central defenders, before he rounded the keeper and slid the ball into the net. It was a great way to cap off a fine display. To make things better Norway and Iceland had drawn, leaving Scotland in pole position for second place. The only bad point was that McFadden would miss the Holland match after picking up a yellow card.